


Many.

by egg_murder



Category: Liberty: Critical Research (Podcast)
Genre: Canon Divergence, Gen, Kovski is Full Fringer, The Many is a SF group in the iconography guide
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-12
Updated: 2019-07-12
Packaged: 2020-06-26 18:46:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,837
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19774180
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/egg_murder/pseuds/egg_murder
Summary: Xena Six is always quiet, a shifting presence in the South Fringe. She does her job and gets out until she meets a certain Storyteller.





	Many.

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Travis Vengroff](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Travis+Vengroff).



Xena Six has always been a quiet gal. She knows that in the Southern Fringe it's very frowned upon, but she likes to use her words carefully. The way one misstep could lead to her revealing the location of her family, her 'gang', and she won't risk it. So she always toes the line of stealth and invisibility, which usually goes well. Not tonight. This evening she walked in on gang beating, the one under the two guys is _scrawny_. He is speaking in a tongue she doesn't fully understand and is about to sneak away when another member enters the room. It's a tall man, with broad shoulders and scars littering his face. His hair is mussed with what smells like blood and sweat. She pauses, hoping that maybe, just maybe she could get out of here without using excess force. The small smokers sit on the back of her hip, waiting to be used.

The man still notices her presence and starts to speak, she tries to ignore him. Her gaze moves towards the man that is on the floor. He is covered in bruises and dirt, while a weird feeling in her gut says that dirt should never meet his skin. Xena is brought back into reality when she realizes the leader is going to launch himself at her. She grabs the smokers from her belt and throws them to the ground, setting off an explosion and for the smoke to fill the room. Her goggles are jostled down onto her face quickly as she is able to detect the others in the room. The exit is behind the multiple lackies, she clicks her tongue and moves forward. The first man goes down quickly, and the other goes down like a ton of cement. Xena doesn't know why she grabs the smaller man on the floor, but she does, and then she runs. She runs faster than she thought possible while dragging the man behind her. His feet hit the pavement unevenly as they continue on.

She is able to reach one of the agriculture buildings before stopping. The man is dizzy, so she helps him sit down on one of the rusted chairs next to the barebones table. The room is medium-sized and full of the many amenities that The Many allow their farmers to own. Xena grabs a glass cup from a dusty cabinet and fills it with water. She offers it to the man and he takes it. His shaky hand takes it and takes a sip of it. While he slowly sips down the rest of the glass she walks towards the bedroom to look for any form of aid. There are some cut rags with an unlabeled brown bottle, she calls it good and walks back to him. The glass is sitting on the table and he is staring at his hands. Xena places the rags and bottle on the table, picking up the empty glass and going to get more water. When she places the glass back down on the table the man looks at her. His eyes seem to be dazed.

Xena goes to work on the man's injuries, and he jumps when she lightly grabs his arm. He looks at her and she finds it akin to a frightened animal fledgling. It sends a shiver through her body and she oddly wants to protect him, a maternal instinct set off in her. She gingerly puts her hand on his and prays to Man that he understands what she is trying to convey. He looks her in the eye and stares at her for a moment more before letting out a small nod. The man holds out his bleeding arm out to her, and she smiles. The small amount of liquid from the bottle is able to clean the cut, and the man holds her free hand as the pain subsides. He lets out a shaky smile as she starts to wrap the arm.

After she cleans him up they have a conversation, it's short. The man introduces himself as Kovski, and he is the Storyteller. The gang name he gives is one she has never heard of, must be new. She introduces herself and he smiles at her. She asks him if he would like to join her on a trip home, and his eyes brighten. He exclaims he would love to. She pulls his patchy hood above his head and they exit the building. Xena starts to lead the way back to the tunnel entrance.

Kovski is delightful company, she comes to discover. He chitters on silently as he starts to tell her the stories of other gangs. Her attention is drawn to this beanstalk as he weaves her tales out of thin air. She doesn't think she's had a peaceful walk like this before. It's nice.

The men waiting at the post look at her weirdly but let her and Kovski through. "Would you like to talk to Hue-Man?" The familiar name for the leaders drips off her tongue as she asks the question. He nods excitedly, "I would be delighted to, Xena."

Xena hands her goggles to Kovski as they start to walk down the tunnel. The lights on the wall are dim and allow little to night light to be shown in the tunnels. Not after the torches had failed them many times over. They continue through the main tunnels. Many of the craftspeople and children stare at them as they jaunt towards the leaders of the gang. Their section of the tunnels is covered in caves and crawling with guards and other such disgusting flora and fauna. The guards wave her through before eyeing up Kovski.

Kovski doesn't seem perturbed by the number of guards and he is absolutely fascinated with the cave life.

Xena is unsure of if she has ever seen someone so excited to see the caves. The folks usually exploring the caves are those that are lost or have been punished for attracting attention to The Many. She knows that if this interaction goes wrong her head will be on the line. It's a bigger risk than she ever has taken before, but Kovski does not look to be a flight risk. He is kind and simple, and the clothes covering his body prove that he was one of ours.

The fact that the towers have been sending more people into the Fringe has caused all of the groups to be out of sorts. There was nothing proving that this storyteller had been a part of the towers, which she hopes he wasn't. They lost their best runners because of the towers.

Hue and Man were standing in their study when they enter. Hue is short and pudgy, with unruly facial hair that is paired with thin blonde hair. Man is tall and broad, with piercing eyes and a friendly face. They make a lovely pair and lead The Many throughout the years. She bows her head slightly before introducing Kovski. His title precedes him slightly, as he looks like a _teddy bear_ and not some tale-weaver. He seems to be filled with excited energy as he talks to Hue-Man. She doesn't miss the small shudder when Hue-Man tells him the name of their community. there is some lingering anxiety in the air.

Before Hue-Man gives him the story of their conception, their god Tiamo and her glorious gifts, they want a story in return. One of the people where he comes from, one that holds their interest.

Kovski gives a shaky smile, one at is pointed at the three of them. Once the beginning of the story leaves his mouth, Xena knows it's going to be something hauntingly beautiful.

He weaves a tale of a frightened people, with land infertile and desolate. Kovski continues with the way their humanity made them weak to the wiles of the storm goddess who despised the people below because of their freedom. She had been trapped there for centuries, as her job was to cause storms and none else. Punishment for a giant flood that went without jurisdiction. She envied those humans and allowed famines and saltwater to pour down on those people. They were now going to share the same fate of suffering, of entrapment. Anytime one human tried to leave the community would be caught in a storm so violent their body would be returned in pieces.

Salt rained down on those lands, destroying their fields, and taking their water away in cyclones and tornadoes. She destroyed everything that those people could care for or use. They prayed and sacrificed but none of it could atone for the punishment she was given. The people of those lands died starving, unhappy, and scared. Except for one, a little boy. He had appeased her by sitting out on the rocks and talking to her punisher. The little boy begged for her to be freed, to allow them all to be freed of this torture. The god had been pleased with the display and allowed this boy to leave his homeland. He plunged himself into the unknown while the goddess tortured the people of his land. He would tell their story.

Kovski smiles as he finishes, and it's more than they thought they would get from a self-proclaimed Storyteller. Hue-Man start to regale Kovski with the tale of their people. The misfortunate ancestors that were plagued with the sickness of those surrounding them. They fled to tunnels and were alone, Tiamo came down with a light and led the way through the tunnels. Her light shone bright and ran through The Many.

Their system was set up as they continued to shift their remaining people into their system. Other gangs had ransacked them many more times than before, and leaving their men bleeding in the streets with nothing but their clothes and a minute left of air. The Many were dropping likes flies, and they acted aggressively towards their opponents. Murders that were unspoken of plagued the ranks of other gangs, done in daylight with their emblem displayed behind them. Kovski nods his head as he takes in the information. They continue on, telling of how they set up their system with the agriculture and their hierarchy.

Kovski's rapt attention is turned off when the story ends.

He points more questions about their structure towards Hue-Man and gets answers. The conversation turns towards Kovski, and if he is staying or leaving. He opts to leave, explaining that he must spread the story to the others. Hue-Man smiles at him and they tell Xena to lead him out. Kovski smiles at her as she leads him back through the caves. They pass through the tunnels again and exit the system. "It was wonderful meeting you, Xena. Your community is beautiful. I will be sure to pass your tale of great sorrow through the Fringe," He waves and walks towards the other territories. He was an odd fellow, but one she believes in.

**Author's Note:**

> So wow I wrote this in a day and I have a feeling it's absolutely horrible!
> 
> I adore Kovski and will continue to make more content of him until I die. He got over Fringe Fever and is now a fully-fledged member of the Southern Fringe. 
> 
> Now I sent this to Travis and do I know if he has seen it yet? Nope, nada. I am currently anxious about him reading this dumpster fire but my friend assured me that he'll 98% like it. So yeah, Travis when you're reading this tell me what you think. 
> 
> I'm gonna crawl back into my den of Kovski drawings and hope I drown.


End file.
